What Worked and Didn't Work at Open House

Well, tonight was open house.  It went awesome!  The parents were friendly and my students were super nervous to move into middle school.  It was great to be able to encourage them and let them know they could come to me if they ever had a question.  Reflecting on tonight, there were definitely some things that went well and some things I will change for next year.

What went well? First, I had my students' seats marked with colored sticky notes depending on their period.  When students walked in, I could tell them to find where they sit so that I won't have to worry about that tomorrow. Also, I labeled each station so that parents knew where to go.  Another aspect that was received well was the graphic syllabus that I blogged about last time.  I had several parents thank me for making
it easy to read.  Lastly, my homeroom kiddos loved the little highlighter gift I placed at each of their desks.  I loved
giving out a gift so much, that I'm already
brainstorming ideas for next year!

What I do I need to change?  I, definitely, planned too much!  I printed out sheets for my parents to sign up for Remind, but many didn't look at the signs and those that did, didn't have their cell phones with them.  I also set out sample interactive notebooks, but they were in a different section so parents and students were not aware that they could look at them. 

I think that next year the focus needs to be on the basics.  If I need to send more information out, I can through email. The parents and students were already overwhelmed with entering middle school for the first time, and then to flood them with how my classroom works was just a little too much. 

Words for the future:  Less is More...unless less is chocolate, then the saying does NOT apply! :)

Draw the Eye in with a Graphic Syllabus

Each year my syllabus has morphed into something else.  I started teaching with a very basic syllabus that was missing much of the information that parents needed to know.  I then created a lengthy, multiple page syllabus that I doubt my students and parents read.  Well, it has now changed, again, and this time, I think it is for the better.  This graphic syllabus draws the eye into important information and still conveys effectively every thing I need my students and parents to know.

I saw this idea on Pinterest, and modified it to work for my class. You may look at it and think it has to be missing things, but it really isn't.  My class rules are very to the point and follow the Whole Brain Teaching model.  Remember, Rules 4 and 5 cover all of those little things that you would want to include in your syllabus about being prepared, being on time, etc. 

The one thing that is missing, in my opinion, is a list of topics to be covered throughout the year.  This year, I am at a new school and the curriculum will soon be changing.  Rather than putting in writing what is going to be covered throughout the year in advance, I plan to update my classroom website in order to keep parents informed about what we are learning.

I know many of you have already started back for the year, but I hope this gives you inspiration for next year's syllabus.  Have a relaxing Sunday. Tomorrow we hit the ground running, changing lives, and inspiring minds!

Setting Up for Back to School!

Well, school is just about to be back in session.  For some of you that may strum up feelings of excitement and eagerness to meet your new students and decorate you room.  For others, it may make you want to turn back into a toddler, kicking and screaming because you don't want to head back. If you are like me, I have feelings of both.  Summer definitely has not been long enough, but I love setting up my room and getting it organized so that my students can succeed!

Last week I spent a couple of days in my classroom getting a few things together.  I have photos of a what I have accomplished in getting my classroom organized.

1. Desk Organization: Here is my desk area.  It is not finished, but I thought I'd post it anyway so that if you are reading this and you are getting your classroom organized you can begin take ideas and implement them into your classroom. I use a dish rack to organize my curriculum materials.  I love this idea because I can easy access everything I need.  In order to stay organized, I need STORAGE, STORAGE, STORAGE.  A new thing I am implementing this year is my grade, copy, file drawers.  These are fairly deep drawers so that if I get behind on paperwork, the papers aren't scattered all over my desk.  My plan is to organize or complete all of the tasks in these drawers each day before I leave school. 

Whiteboard Organization: Here is one of the whiteboards in my classroom.  Two years ago I started selecting one board to designate for important information.  I separate the sections on the board with washi tape (If you have not heard of this, definitely look it up: AMAZING!). I teach two grades so there are two sections for essential questions, the agenda, and possible homework they may have each day.  The WBT section is my classroom rules based upon Whole Brain Teaching.  I will post my five classroom rules later on in the week.  The last section relates to my homeroom kids.  Each subject has a section so we can discuss at the end of the day what they need to complete at home.  The "C" with a star stands for "Challenge".  This year, I am going to work on character development with my students.  They will have a weekly character challenge, such as "introduce yourself to someone new".  We will then discuss how it affected them on Fridays.

Extension Center: The last section for today is the extension center.  This year students have a whole section dedicated to what they can do when they finish their work.  In the muti-colored drawers are science task cards.  Some may be related to what we are covering, some may be review, and the super challenging ones are things they have never learned before.  My classroom library and games area is also located on the shelf. This year I am doing two new things that I'm very excited about.  First, the "Shout Outs" wall.  In order to build the classroom community, students will have the opportunity to compliment others on their classroom work, character, etc.  The trays on top of the bookshelf are where students are going to turn in work this year.  I do weekly learning logs, but due to the busyness of the school day, I don't get them graded right away.  When students turn papers in based upon their beliefs about their understanding, I can easily see if I need to reteach.  This is a quick and easy formative assessment that gives me relevant feedback so that I can modify the lesson to meet the needs of my students.

Well, that's it for today!  Check back later in he week and I'll post more as school gets closer.  Have a wonderful day!